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England

Ben Stokes: 158 runs at 52.7; seven wickets at 36.9; one catch

A first series win in New Zealand since Tim Southee’s debut season in 2008 came with a little luck and a lot of ruthless authority when it really mattered. Stokes backed his players to the hilt, the hallmark of his leadership, in the two Tests that brought home the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy and found comforting words after the Hamilton debacle. His partnerships with Harry Brook and the tail transformed a deficit of 126 with five down in Christchurch into a first-innings lead of 151, a momentum shift that went a long way to deciding the series. If his increasingly onerous spells with the ball were intended to prove (to himself as much as anyone) that his body could stand up to the demands of the fourth seamer role, he received a brutal answer in Hamilton. Grade B+

Zak Crawley: 52 runs at 8.7; four catches

That 42 of those 52 runs came in boundaries speaks of a batter high on his own supply – truth be told, he was fortunate to get as many as that. It’s the way he’s been asked to play, and it’s a recipe for feast or famine, but Matt Henry deserved more respect. Not that the Kiwi will care, with all six Crawley dismissals in his bag. Grade E

Ben Duckett: 180 runs at 30.0; four catches

England’s inscrutable dasher has adopted Kipling’s advice to meet with triumph and disaster just the same, the attitude and demeanour unchanging ball after ball. Just the one important knock, 92 at Wellington, that proved crucial in setting up the series-clinching win. Grade B-

Jacob Bethell: 260 runs at 52.0; three wickets at 25.7; four catches

The Bazball pick at No 3 created a Bazball buzz with a blizzard of boundaries, as England charged from a strong position to a winning position in the second Test. A few days later he looked very green when roughed up by Will O’Rourke, but the boy found a way to stand on the burning deck of England’s second innings in the third Test and make the top score. Like so many young batters, the challenge will be to stiffen a technique that stays naturally leg-side of the ball to open scoring options. Grade B+

Jacob Bethell made an assertive start to his Test career at No 3. Photograph: Aaron Gillions/Shutterstock

Joe Root: 218 runs at 43.6; one wicket at 17.0; two catches

Just because we’ve seen it before, it’s no less impressive. When England needed a score to put the target out of sight and deliver, at a minimum, a drawn series in the second Test, he constructed a record-extending century in a record year for run-scoring. A week or so later, as New Zealand piled up unnecessary runs, he was chasing a boundary ball when the camera caught his face – he looked like an AI-aged version of Joe Root, 10 years older than his true age, rather than his usual 10 years younger. It was a reminder of the price he has paid for what he has done for this team in 2024. Grade B+

Harry Brook: 350 runs at 70.0; no wicket for 13 runs; five catches

In the two live Tests, he advanced the crucial first innings from 45 for 3 to 381 for 6 and from 26 for 3 to 259 for 7, his personal contributions, 171 and 123, seasoned with 26 fours and eight sixes. Innings such as those cannot win Test matches on their own, but they go a long way towards that goal, both in the scorebook and in the spirit of opponents. If the first knock was fortunate, the second was imperious. Grade A-

Ollie Pope: 194 runs at 38.8; 10 catches

That he was given little time to prepare mentally or physically for the demands of wicketkeeping, yet never looked out of place, speaks to a professionalism that hasn’t always been evident in his batting in recent years. He looks more comfortable at six than at three, his runs in the first two Tests key to rebuilding tottering totals, but how England fit him in there is a conundrum, especially as he keeps doing enough to make a statement that ‘we’re moving on’ feel unwise. Grade B+

Ollie Pope kept well and regained some form with the bat. Photograph: DJ Mills/Shutterstock

Chris Woakes: 19 runs at 10.0; six wickets at 29.2; two catches

The veteran took a little while to find his feet, but all of his wickets were top-six batters and came when the series was still live. He didn’t make many runs – but didn’t need to. Grade B

Brydon Carse: 54 runs at 18.0; 18 wickets at 17.6; five catches

Ten wickets in only his second appearance in Test cricket to open the series and then ripping out Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell in Wellington to make England’s first-innings 280 look a much better score than it was. Fast, with movement when he pitches it up and bounce when he goes short, the late-blooming Durham man looks made for the toughest format of the game. Grade A-

Gus Atkinson: 99 runs at 24.8; 12 wickets at 24.9; four catches

Understandably, he was showing some fatigue at the end of his extraordinary 2024, but he still took his fair share of wickets and found a party piece to illuminate a series, a hat-trick rather than a century this time. Bowls at a Glenn McGrath pace, with Glenn McGrath lines and lengths and Glenn McGrath results. Of course he won’t maintain that over a decade or more like the great Australian, but it’s not bad for starters. Grade B+

Gus Atkinson celebrates his hat-trick at the Basin Reserve. Photograph: Kerry Marshall/AP

Matthew Potts: one run at 0.5; five wickets at 30.8; one catch

The muscly Durham pacer was rotated into an XI that had got the job done and had one foot under the Christmas tree but, as usual, he gave it his all and did not let anyone down. He has reached double figures in Tests now and seems likely never to be wholly out in the cold, but never more than a foot-soldier in England’s phalanx of fast men, ready to go on parade if required. Grade B

Shoaib Bashir: eight runs at 8.0; eight wickets at 51.8; one catch

Is 14 Test matches in a year, from a standing start, a reasonable workload for a lad who turned 21 in October? An impressive haul of 47 Test wickets suggests it is, but it was looking like a slog long before the universal ugliness of New Zealand’s march to a lead of 658 in their last innings of the series. “Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?” England might, if they’re not careful. Grade C-

New Zealand

Tom Latham: 171 runs at 28.5; three catches

Like his team, he appeared to suffer a hangover from delivering the extraordinary whitewash in India, most notably in being at a loss to raise his own or his team’s fielding effort, a major point of difference in Christchurch. It is notable that when he did eventually cross 50, he was in the company of a confident Will Young and not the out-of-sorts Devon Conway. His F-U orchestrating of the dead-rubber declaration in Hamilton will inspire few to buy ground tickets or television subscriptions for Test cricket in the future, even if it did produce a huge consolation win. Grade D

Devon Conway: 21 runs at 5.3; two catches

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Early dismissals are an occupational hazard for openers, but four in a row isn’t good. His usually reliable fielding was of a piece with NZ’s dismal effort at Christchurch. Grade E

Will Young: 102 runs at 51.0; one catch

The player of the series in India would surely have retained his place had it been required for anyone other than Kane Williamson, but Conway’s paternity leave opened up a slot for Hamilton and two solid knocks suggest he is more likely to hold it than relinquish it when baby stops crying. Grade B

Kane Williamson: 395 runs at 65.9

It’s always a surprise when he gets out, so compact is the technique, so soft the hands, so fierce the concentration, but he did, five times before notching his customary Seddon Park ton. That will rile him, as he knew big scores were there for the taking when the series was live. New Zealand had a glimpse of the post-Williamson future in India but, on this evidence, that’s still a way off for a man now in his 15th year as a Test batter. Grade B+

Kane Williamson was back to his imperious best with a century at Seddon Park. Photograph: DJ Mills/Shutterstock

Rachin Ravindra: 129 runs at 21.5; one catch

Entered the series looking like the natural successor to Williamson as the linchpin of the Kiwi middle order, but ran into a rampant Brydon Carse, who made something of a bunny out of him. Like so many young batters who burst into Test cricket, he’s reverting to the norm – the question is whether he can come again. Grade C

Daryl Mitchell: 215 runs at 35.8; four catches

So often the ballast in his country’s middle order, he’ll reflect on the fact that his two good scores came when the second Test was pretty much lost and the third was pretty much won. Grade B-

Tom Blundell: 213 runs at 42.6; six catches and one stumping

Whether fair or not, a wicketkeeper, as the leader of the fielding effort, cops criticism when catches are dropped, and few innings have seen more (or more crucial) gaffes than were witnessed in England’s momentum-shifting first innings of the series. That so experienced a keeper was, if anything, less reliable than his part-time opposite number, does not commend his performance in the day job. He did make a century, but one characterised by defiance rather than influence. Grade B-

Glenn Phillips: 117 runs at 29.3; one wicket at 142.0; seven catches

If champagne moments were still a thing, his flying screamer to see off Ollie Pope and take the wind out of England’s fightback in the first Test was one. But he suffered from the paradox of the all-rounder – failing to impose himself with bat or ball, he left his side looking short in both departments. Grade C

Nathan Smith: 80 runs at 20.0; seven wickets at 48.4

The raw all-rounder hit the deck hard with the ball to pick up his share of wickets and also showed promise with the bat in his debut series. He needed the catches to be held in the eye of the Bazball storm, and his consequent economy rate of almost a run-a-ball was deemed too expensive to be risked at Hamilton. Grade C

Mitchell Santner: 125 runs at 62.5; seven wickets at 13.1; two catches

The 13-wicket hero of his previous Test in Pune eventually wrestled one of the all-rounders’ slots from Nathan Smith when the series was already settled. He proceeded to enjoy himself, belting 13 fours and seven sixes and taking a hatful of wickets, but he’d have preferred a role when the battle was burning brightest. Grade A-

Matt Henry: 31 runs at 5.2; 15 wickets at 23.2; three catches

Not much the veteran seamer does not know about new-ball bowling and he used that knowledge superbly to win all six duels with England’s cannonball opener Zak Crawley, who simply could not cope with his movement and changes of pace. A model pro who gives everything for his team. Grade A-

Matt Henry celebrates his sixth dismissal of Zak Crawley of the series at Seddon Park. Photograph: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Tim Southee: 60 runs at 10.0; six wickets at 54.3; three catches

A slightly overblown valedictory series for the old warhorse, during which he strengthened the case for the naysayers of such constructed narratives (‘The Tim Southee End’ – for one match only, really?) A fine servant to the game, he was flung around like a least favourite rag-doll by England’s Bazballers and might be grateful not to be facing them again. Grade C-

Will O’Rourke: 11 runs at 3.7; 10 wickets at 38.8; two catches

The new Shane Bond? It’s a decade and a half since the New Zealand speedster terrorised batters (well, those unlucky enough to coincide with his 18 Tests spread over eight years) with pace, bounce and unerring line. The tall 23-year-old isn’t quite in that class yet, but he’s hostile, has variations already and finds life in pitches not available to others. Often batters couldn’t get far enough across to edge his shaped full deliveries, his figures reflecting neither his performances nor his impact on opponents. The game is a different proposition above 90mph. Grade B

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